I need advice on commissions for commercial use

Emalie 2023-05-23 12:03:51 UTC #1

Hello everyone,

I have been working on commissions for a short time and in the terms of the contract I have always established that it is for personal use only. I've known someone from the community for a couple of months and this person asked me to draw some illustrations for their novel, but they want it to be for commercial use.

Although I said that the commission conditions are different, they still insist on hiring me, for which I am very grateful and I could risk working on it. For that, I have to modify the current contract and add a clause about a commercial use fee, but I have no idea how to write it or what percentage to add to it.

I have read some contracts of other artists, the truth is that I don't know what details I should take into account, this is new to me.

Thank you very much for the help.

Any advice would be valuable.

cherrystark 2023-05-23 13:18:49 UTC #2

You may want to talk to a lawyer to discuss specifics of what you want covered. Like if you were responsible for drawing a cool OC, do you want rights in the case of merchandise or just the right to show it off in the portfolio. Money wise - charge as much as you want for commercial use. But no matter what, I would make sure your contract states what your rights are.

Emalie 2023-05-23 13:50:20 UTC #3

The client told me it was because of their portfolio (they are chibis by the way), but also because they want to open an online business. I've thought about doubling or even tripling the price.

cherrystark 2023-05-23 14:05:30 UTC #4

Which is fair. I just wanted to raise the word of warning about rights because I've seen artists' creations be used on projects that don't align with their values as well as stories about artists being cheated out of royalties when the other party gets successful. I saw a few stories about the families of Marvel artists, I believe, fighting to get royalties on the OG character because of contracts. That is an entirely separate issue, but it goes back to how much "ownership" do you want of your drawings. That should be listed in the contract.

darthmongoose 2023-05-23 14:13:45 UTC #5

Make sure that the contract/written agreement says exactly what they're permitted to do with the work. Ie. If it's for novels, but you don't want them putting it on shirts and stuff, make sure it says something like, "This agreement is for X illustrations, plus the right to reproduce them for digital and print editions of written works, and promotion of those works only." For extra protection, you could include the names of the works too, to make sure they can only be used on those specific works.

The agreement doesn't necessarily need to be a strict contract in legal language. If it says something like that, and it's dated (sending by email will do the trick), and it can be proved that the client agreed to the terms, that offers a fair deal of protection.

GothickangelStudios 2023-05-23 14:55:41 UTC #6

I went online to research commercial, royalties, limited useage, etc. Through the years Ive tinkered with mine. I also had to add in a spot now due to my epilepsy, cause I tend to work at my own pace now. The commissions do get done.
I also had to recently change up how payment would be laid out. I used to get paid afterwards. But then I got ghosted, however due to the contract, unless I'm paid I OWN IT and can resell it or use it. But it became too often so now its a installment payments where certain amount before I start. Then halfway through then upon completion and if they ghost me again well I KEEP it all with no refunds. So for me its all paperwork beforehand, paperwork and communication I keep records off during and then final paperwork for release and everything is documated.
They are not long winded contracts, its like a page if it was loaded in MS Word.
But my TOS, Disclaimer, Payment, etc is more to read. A few more pages. And in the contract they have to sign off they have read it.
Because Ive dealth with large and small companies besides individuals paperwork is good. For the business, etc they can use it to claim as a business expense and for taxes.

denise 2023-05-23 21:29:34 UTC #7

Hey! I hope you are doing well. When you sell commission for commercial purposes, you define who owns the rights to the artwork and how it can be used. In your case, you want the rights to your work, but you are going to give the client a license to use it for commercial purposes. For example:

Also, you can add something like this in your clause:

YOU ARE ALLOWED TO
• Create Unlimited Physical End Products*
• Create Unlimited Digital End Products*
• Create your own items that you sell on Print-on-Demand (POD) sites*

YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO
• Resell, sub-license, share or (re)distribute any of the digital files.
• Files cannot be transferred to 3rd parties (e.g. clients, partners, customers). In case the 3rd party needs to receive the actual font file, a separate license needs to be purchased.

I used to work in a company as a professional administrative assistant, specifically working directly to create contracts and subcontracts. If you want to make a more professional contract, you can do something like this.

ARTWORK LICENSE AGREEMENT
This Agreement is made and entered into on this _______ day of _________, 2023, by and between _________________, Artist, and _________________, Client.
1. ARTWORK DESCRIPTION
A detailed description of the artwork
2. SCOPE OF LICENSE
Specific details about where, when, and how the client is permitted to use the artwork.
3. FEE AND PAYMENT
Specific details about the amount, payment schedule, and method of payment
4. COPYRIGHT
The Artist retains copyright in the Artwork and merely licenses its use as specified in this Agreement.
5. TERMINATION
Specific conditions under which the contract may be terminated.
6. WARRANTY
A statement about the originality of the work and non-infringement on other copyrights.
7. INDEMNIFICATION
A statement to protect both parties in the event of legal claims.

Artist's Signature Date

Client's Signature Date

You can create it on Google Documents for the client to sign the terms and conditions if everything is an online transaction. Also, you can send an invoice through Paypal, where you can add the terms and conditions too. I hope this help. Remember, if you can afford it, consider consulting with a legal professional.

Emalie 2023-05-24 00:58:14 UTC #8

Thank you so much for your help and I appreciate all of you for the advice. I am learning a lot. ️

Katzalcoatl 2023-05-24 02:09:14 UTC #9

You still need to contact a lawyer. Just because you have a contract it doesn't mean it is legal. A contract can be made void if it breaks a law. Each state has their own laws.

International copyright laws don't apply to all countries.

In case your client gets a copyright of the drawings (s)he commissioned from you under their own name. Then you would legally recieve no royalties.

Just because you have something under a contract does not mean that contract is valid. You have to check with an expert in the field. Many people want to save money by ignoring this important step and they even go as far as creating their own contracts.

The reality of the matter is that if a contract breaks one single law it can be made pretty much void. Copyrights are a pretty delicate thing. When you do a commission you are pretty much giving away some of the copyrights to your client.

Copyrights are a somewhat complicated matter which involves right to reservation of copyrights, commercial copyrights, among other things which require certain legal processes.

I am not sure what clause you want to add as a commercial use fee but that is my advice to you. As always every response you got here is not legal advice in any way. And it is only to be taken as a suggestion.